Improvement in artificial hands



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

OLIVER LINDSAY AND ISAAC VANOE, OF WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL HANDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,014, dated September 19, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OLIVER LINDSAY and ISAAC VANCE, of Washington, in the county of Washington, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Artificial Hand; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The nature of our invention consists in providing the hand with artificial ligatures made of lsteel plates running through the n gers, to enable the n gers to open and close, and to remain opened and closed, as desired, the ligatures to be worked by means of a steel spring and ratchet or screw workin g on a slide-bar with ratchets, and in providing a socket for the arm made into two or more parts, enabling the hand to he more readily adjusted to the amputatedlimb.

We construct our artieial hand after the pattern of the human hand, the joints of the lingers a being the usual meup-and-ball joints, the joints being each riveted to the steel ligatures c, the steel ligatures running through the fingers and band and fastened tothe slide-bar and ratchet d e, this ratchet enabling the hand to remain in any position where placed.

The socket A is divided into two or more parts longitudinally, and by a vertical joint, h, covered by a spring-plate, i, and united by a gunI-eIasticband,B, thus enablingit to be more readily adjusted and better applied to the limb.

f are the spring-dogs for holding and releasing the spring-bar d and ratchet e. These dogs are thrown out by the thumb-levers g or by a thumb-screw.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The steel ligatures, slide-bar, and ratehetor screw, in combination with the artilioial fingerjoints, enabling tbe hand to operate as desired, and also the socket, as above described.

OLIVER LINDSAY. ISAAC VANCE. Witnesses:

CHARLES LINTON, A.G. MAEsHIvIAN. 

